Cassandra Cain: After The End
by Assam33
Summary: It's Cassandra Cain-Wayne's 20th birthday. And there's someone special she wants to spend it with.
1. Chapter 1

"Night, Sarah," the bespectacled redhead called out as she walked out of Caroline's Diner, searching her bag for cigarettes.

Looking down at her from the roof of one of Gotham's ubiquitous skyscrapers, the city's prodigal daughter could feel her heart racing.

"I need to get it... **perfect** this time," Cassandra Cain-Wayne spoke into her voice recorder. Her younger brother, Tim Drake, had remembered how much she'd liked the one she'd had back in Bludhaven and had gotten her a new one as a "Welcome Home" gift.

Not allowing herself to blink, Cassandra leaped from one rooftop to another as her old friend walked down the street. She wasn't prepared to let this moment end.

"When Stephanie came back...I wasn't...right," the Black Bat spoke. "Didn't say...how...how happy I was. How much I'd missed her."

A cold gust passed by, the young woman on the street shivering in the Winter cold while Cass remained unphased in her thermal uniform.

"Took so long...to see Barbara. She cried...more than I did."

Brenda Miller, former Bludhaven cafe owner, turned her head up toward the tall buildings on the opposite side of the street. She had no way of seeing her, but Cass could feel her gaze, her heart pumping even faster.

"Not this time."

Many things had changed in Gotham while Cassandra had been away. Dick had become Batman, something which had bothered Cass until their father had returned. To be Batman was her destiny, but she could accept her older brother pinch hitting for her this time. Damian Wayne had become the new Robin, which lead to a less than civil first meeting between the two. Someone she didn't know much of anything about had taken on the role of Batwoman. A new Azrael had a risen, Cass planning on having a chat with whoever it was bearing her fallen friend's mantle. Stephanie Brown had grown exponentially both as a hero and as a person, something which delighted Cass, much as it pained her to call someone else the first name she'd ever known.

And of course, there was Brenda, one of Gotham's newest citizens.

However, with change, there were constants. The city was still infested with criminals of the superstitious and cowardly variety, Alfred still took care of her in a way that only Alfred could, and regardless of what colors they'd put in front of their names in the wake of their mantles being taken, there was still almost no partner Cass preferred to Tim.

"There's no way to do this "perfectly"," Tim said, flawlessly executing a bo kata on King Shark. Cass smirked. Steph wasn't the only one who'd improved.

"Come on!" King Shark shouted, exasperated. "I'm a shark! I need to eat! And I thought everyone loved killing Nazis, even you "heroes"!"

Red Robin and Black Bat shared a glance. Once they were finished with the surprisingly vocally talented King Shark, they were going to be letting off some steam on his dinner menu.

"Just go to see her and tell her how glad you are to see her again," Tim said while Cass, moving faster than the former Boy Wonder could see, delivered a series of blows to King Shark's head, knocking him unconscious. As Cass stretched her impossibly powerful arms, Tim continued. "Trust me, I've had a lot of dead friends come back. She'll be **just** as happy to see you."

Unlike far too many of their friends,but much like a certain eggplant, Brenda had never truly died, having been out of town when Chemo was dropped on Bludhaven. Cassandra couldn't believe her ears when Alfred had told her that she'd survived and moved to Gotham.

"It's not that easy," Cass said while Tim threw a capsule down at King Shark, encasing him in containment foam. "I can't...just talk to her. Need to know what I'm gonna say."

Tim turned around, giving his full attention to Cass.

"I thought your social skills had gotten a lot better while you were away. They certainly seemed that way when we were dealing with The Architect."

Cassandra scratched her head.

"They have. I've learned...a lot. But I'm still...me."

"Of course, of course," Tim replied, self-loathing in his voice. He hated putting his foot in his mouth, possibly insulting Cass. "Well hey, why not start by telling her how happy you are to see her and **then** invite her to your party this weekend?"

"Uuuuuuuugh," Cass let out a dull-toned groan, sliding her hand across her face. She'd made it clear to Alfred that she didn't want a big 20th birthday party, but he'd insisted on still having a family dinner. She would have fought him on it, but it was Alfred.

And even Bruce seemed enthused about the idea.

Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Tim and Damian would all be there of course. Stephanie and Barbara too. Barbara had even managed to track Onyx down for the event.

Cass found the whole idea uncomfortable, but at least it would be a manageable number of people and all people she knew. All people who were her family or who she saw as family.

Maybe Brenda **would** fit in there.

"I'll think about it," Cass said. "Now, come one." She threw a couple quick punches at the air. "Monsters."

Tim could see that Cass was still upset from the conversation. Making sure his actions were clearly foreseeable as he approached, her gently laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Plan 58?"

Cass smiled.

She loved Plan 58.

The next morning, Cass stood outside Caroline's Diner, taking a series of deep breaths.

"Got this," she paused. "Got this."

Walking into the diner, Cass's eyes darted around the restaurant looking for Brenda, paying no attention to the rush of people getting their breakfast. She knew exactly what she was going to say and she was not going to be thrown off by Brenda seeing her first.

"Oh my god!" an unmistakable voice shouted.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,_ Cass's mind echoed, as she put on a terrified smile, slowly turning around toward the direction of the voice.

"Cassandra!" Brendra cheered, wrapping her arms around her.

Cass could still salvage her script. Still say what she had planned.

But all she could do was tear up, embracing Brenda tightly.

"I had no idea what happened to you. I was worried you might have come home before the city was destroyed!" Brenda expressed as she let go of Cass.

Cass said nothing. And she didn't let go.

"Hey, sweetie, you okay?"

Cass hugged her tighter, mucus running from her nose.

"Thought...you were dead. Thought...my fault."

"Brenda, get back to work!" a male voice screamed.

"Taking an early lunch, Emmanuel!" Brenda shouted back, before immediately returning her attention to Cass. "Hey, let's get out of here. Okay?"

Cass nodded furiously, holding on for a few more moments before letting go of Brenda and walking out of the diner with her. Embarrassed, Cass wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

Unfortunately, she'd forgotten about the make-up she was wearing.

"I don't remember you ever wearing mascara," Brenda joked, trying to lighten the mood.

The majority of the time, Cass couldn't care less about her appearance or what anyone thought of it.

But for Brenda, she'd wanted to look nice.

"Dumb idea," Cass muttered under her breath.

"So," Brenda said a bit awkwardly. "What have you been doing all this time?"

The true story of everything she'd been through since Bludhaven was so ridiculously dumb that even other heroes had a hard time making sense of it. But there were certain true events she could mention.

"Went to...China," she started, staring into Brenda's beautiful blue eyes. "Helped people. Took...dance classes."

"That's really cool!" Brenda exclaimed. "I've just been working here. Trying to get enough cash to open up my own place again, you know?"

Cass's eyes widened. _This_ was something she could do for her. The Wayne Foundation _had_ helped her before after all. And with Tim's suggestion from the previous night, a plan began to form.

"Yes." Cass paused, carefully thinking about what to say next. Every part of Brenda was screaming that she was ecstatic to see Cass. That as far as she was concerned, nothing had changed between them.

But that wasn't enough for her.

"Um, my family is...having a dinner for my birthday. Would you...want to come?"

"Your family? I thought…"

"No, not...my dad." Cass recalled that she'd mentioned Cain to Brenda. "I was adopted."

"Oh!" Brenda expressed surprise. "That's cool." Her face filled with concern. "Not by that old guy you came in with a few times, right?"

Cass laughed.

"No. No, that's Alfred. I'm...a Wayne."

Saying that out loud, Cassandra realized she'd never done so before. It felt good.

"I'm happy for you," Brenda smirked. "Must be weird living in Gotham, sharing a name with the city's royalty and all."

Cass tilted her head to the side.

"Wait...you don't mean…" Her jaw dropped. "Holy crap."

Cass smiled. "So...come?"

Brenda took a moment to answer, wrapping her head around the fact that the girl she'd once mistaken for an impoverished sex worker was now among the wealthiest people in the world.

"A party with **you**? At **Wayne Manor**?" She put a hand on Cass's shoulder. "I'd have to be pretty stupid to say no."


	2. Chapter 2

_Ring ring ring ring ring ring ring!_ Cass's alarm clock sounded.

As she was one to do, Cass had fallen asleep on her king sized bed, over the covers, in a vaguely cat like position.

"Blaaaah," Cass moaned, uncurling herself and slamming down on her alone.

Rubbing the crust out of her eyes, Cass grabbed her phone, noticing that Steph had sent her a video message.

"Happy 20th Birthday Bat Ghoul!" Steph, still in her PJs, shouted excitedly as the message began. "I know we're gonna see each other later, but I wanted to be the first one to say Happy Birthday! Suck it Alfred! Today is gonna be amazing and I know we're gonna have an awesome time tonight. Tell Alfred I'm sorry if he heard this! Byyyyyyyye!"

Throwing her phone down on the bed and stretching, Cass smiled. She loved her eggplant.

 _Thunk,_ the bed sounded as Cass collapsed back onto her bed.

"Not ready."

 _Can still call her. Tell her the party's off. Or that Bruce said she couldn't come. Or have Alfred tell her she died. Normal people die and come back...right?_

Her heart raced faster than she could handle as the door to her spacious room was opened.

"Ahh!" Cass shouted, startled, throwing a pillow at Alfred's face.

The faithful butler was unphased, not dropping the silver platter in his hands.

Cass was worried for a brief moment that she'd hurt him, but that thought quickly passed as he began speaking.

"Happy Birthday, Miss Cassandra," he said, approaching her. Cass sat up on her feet. "As a large feast is being prepared for tonight,for breakfast, I thought you'd appreciate just your favorites."

Alfred removed the platter's lid to reveal a large bowl of rice krispies in milk, an apple and a cup of Assam tea.

The sight of the meal momentarily allowed Cass to cast away her anxiety, but it quickly returned as she took in the smell of the tea.

"Mistake. Not ready. Need to be perfect." Cass grabbed the cup of still scolding tea and chugged back half of it before slamming it back down and collapsing once more. "What do I do?!"

As Alfred set down the platter on Cass's dresser and sat down next to her, he considered a number of things he could say to comfort her, thinking back to Dick, Jason and Tim's various romantic struggles.

But Alfred had never helped a young woman through the minefield of romance before. And so he elected that there was someone better suited for the job.

Cass spun around in her chair, waiting for Barbara to finish whatever it was she was working on.

At least, she assumed that she was working on something. It was equally possible that she was cyber-flirting with the recently resurrected Ted Kord.

Oracle was no longer based in the Clocktower, a former home Cass had been saddened to hear had been destroyed, but her new base of operations had even greater technology and resources and just as many bags of chips for Cass to munch on.

"Would you mind chewing a bit quieter?" Barbara asked, not turning around.

Cass finished loudly chewing on the chips in her mouth. "Angueris."

Barbara turned her head around with a wry smile.

"Anxious?"

"Right. Anxious." Cass crumpled up the empty bag and tossed it into the trash can, a pained expression directed toward her lap.

Barbara fully spun around, taking note that something was wrong.

"Alfred mentioned that you could use some advice, but I didn't think it was anything serious. Is everything okay? I thought you'd be happy to have everyone together tonight."

Cass took a deep breath before looking Barbara straight in the eye.

"How do you..talk to girls...you _like_?"

If Barbara had still been drinking her morning coffee, she would have spit some of it out. She'd known Cass longer than anyone else in Gotham, but she'd never suspected her of not being straight.

 _Did Alfred send her to me about this because everyone thinks I'm dating Dinah_?! Babs thought.

"Um, is there someone you're specifically interested in? Anyone I know?" She paused, thinking about it further. "A blonde?"

Cass hummed for a few moment, working to spit it out.

"Brenda."

In the brief moments she had to consider whom it may be, alongside Steph, Barbara had thought of names like Rose Wilson, Calamity and Cassandra Sandsmark.

But she didn't know any "Brenda".

"Um, who's Brenda?"

Cass felt the knots in her stomach tighten.

"I...met her in Bludhaven. Before…" she paused, biting her lip, feeling as if her guilt would come gushing out like puss. Brenda's survival was miraculous, but millions had still perished on her watch.

"Before I left," she continued. "She was...my friend. We had tea. We talked. She…" Cass couldn't help but smile. "...invited me to a party." Seeing Cass smile so naturally warmed Barbara's heart. "I thought...she was gone. But she's alive. And she's amazing. And she's...coming tonight. And...and...aaaaaaaaah."

Moaning with frustration, Cass slid out of her chair and onto the floor.

She looked up at Barbara.

"What...do?"

Barbara reached her hands down to help Cass up, staring down at her daughter with bemusement.

"Hmm," Barbara hummed as Cass stood. "I've only ever _been_ flirted with; I've never flirted with other women...at least not intentionally, but I do have some ideas." Barbara gripped Cass's hands. "That suit we picked out for you last week? Go put it on."

Cass didn't want to leave her room. People would start arriving in a few minutes. She'd made a game plan with looks dashing in her Armani three-piece suit. She was as prepared as she could be.

But she still didn't want to leave her room.

"Come on, Cain," Damian snarled, looking like a ventriloquist dummy in his tuxedo. "Father is waiting." Cass was seated on the floor, knees folded leaning against the side of her bed. "You know you're wrinkling your suit, right?"

"Your _face_ is wrinkled," Cass snapped back, not in the mood for Damian being...Damian.

"Oh, what a clever comeback," Damian mocked. "How will I ever recover from such a-"

From seemingly out of nowhere, a batarang came flying from Cass's direction toward Damian. Much as he would have liked to have simply caught it, he knew he was too slow to do anything but dodge.

"Very mature!" Damian shouted as he walked away.

"Hmmmmmmm," Cass moaned to herself a few moments later as she stood up. Her head down, she slumped her way out of her room and into the hallway.

 **CHOP!**

From the side, a speeding figure launched itself at Cass, the birthday girl blocking the attack with her forearm. Before she even looked at the attacker's face, she could tell who it was.

"Happy birthday, baby girl," Onyx said, a smirk on her face.

Cass matched her smirk, readying herself for her birthday present from her old friend.

Onyx understood a side of Cass her family never could and, as an added bonus, she made for an excellent sparring partner.

"Where have you been?" Cass asked as the two traded blows.

"Ah, you know. Traveling the world, beating scum half-way to Hell, nothing special." Onyx's face filled with guilt. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I thought people had to be joking when I heard whispers that the "One Who is All" had taken control of the League. If I'd known they were true-"

"It's okay," Cass smiled warmly. "Not your fault."

"You're sure?"

With a swift leg sweep, Onyx was knocked to the floor, Cass staring down at her.

"Okay."

Onyx closed her eyes and let out a quick chuckle as she reached out to grab Cass's extended hand.

"If you say so." Onyx stood up. "What do you say we head downstairs? I'm starving."

Cass nodded, still nervous, but in a much more relaxed mood.

"What?! You and...Alpha?"

"I didn't see it coming either," Onyx laughed, showing Cass pictures of herself and Michael Sommers together on her phone. "But we really hit it off."

The two strolled into the Wayne dining hall, where a magnificent spread was laid out and the rest of the Wayne family was waiting. Dick and Tim were chatting in a corner, while Damian was seated, playing his DS, and Alfred was making final preparations.

"Cassandra", Bruce walked up to her, somewhere half-way between his Batman and Bruce Wayne personas. "You look beautiful."

Cass lowered her head uncomfortably.

"Thank you," she spat out quickly, before darting toward Dick and Tim.

Onyx shot Bruce a hard glare as she went to pour herself a drink. Bruce stood there puzzled, unsure of what he'd done wrong.

"Happy birthday, kid," Dick said, wrapping his arms around his little sister. The relationship between them had been strained for a time, Dick exhibiting behavior he was ashamed of, but since Cass had returned to Gotham, he'd been making more of an effort to be a good brother to her.

"Did things go well with Barabra?" Tim asked.

"They most certainly did," Barbara exclaimed as Steph wheeled her into the dining room.

"Glad to hear it," Tim said, as Cass, moving as a blur, raced from one side of the grand hall to the other to hug her mother and best friend.

"Cass...you're...crushing us," Steph panted.

Cass only smirked as she pulled away from them.

"You ready?" Barbara asked, shaking her arms.

"Hm!"

Save for Onyx, all of the present BatFam had plenty of experience pretending to be normal people around civilians. Even so, all of them around a single civilian who they wanted to make a good impression on was an unusual position.

"Welcome, Miss Brenda," Alfred greeted as he opened the front door for her.

Brenda was speechless, her mouth gaping open, as she entered the grand foyer. Her apartment could fit into it four or five times and any given item in it was likely at least twice as expensive.

Plus, there was the fact that the old man she'd previously incredibly creepy was actually the Wayne butler.

As a rule, Brenda wasn't particularly fond of the rich. But this was _Bruce Wayne_ : Gotham's greatest philanthropist. Add on that he'd taken in Cass as his own, and she held no ill will toward him.

Even if she didn't have anything against the house's owner however, she still found it ridiculous that _anyone_ could have this much wealth.

Brenda managed to recompose herself momentarily, but quickly lost her composure once more as she turned to see Cass. Regardless of how awkwardly she was holding herself, Brenda couldn't help but be enraptured by her beauty.

"Wow, Cassandra," Brenda walked up to her. "You, uh, all of this is amazing. Happy birthday."

Cass took a deep breath in and straightened her back.

"Thank you."

Doing as Barbara had instructed, and as she'd seen men do at many Wayne galas she'd attended, she held out her arm for Brenda to hook her own arm around.

Brenda was taken aback, blushing, unsure if Cass was making a move on her or if she was just being friendly.

Cass lead the two of them into the dining room, where everyone, save Alfred, was seated. Cass quickly pointed to each of them and, as she did so, said their name and relation.

"Barbara, Mom. Stephanie, best friend. Onyx, friend. Dick, older brother. Tim, little brother. Damian, littlest brother. Bruce…" Cass paused, uncomfortable as she looked at Bruce's warm smile. "D...Dad."

"It's nice to meet you all, Brenda said, still taking in everything around her. "Brenda Miller."

The two sat down, Cass at the head of the table, opposite Bruce, with Brenda on her right and Steph on her left.

"The pleasure is all ours, Brenda," Bruce said, now in full "Bruce Wayne" mode. "Why don't you tell us about yourself?" Cass shot Bruce a hard glare. _He_ wasn't part of _her_ plan. Bruce got the message. "Or maybe we can wait till we all have some food in us."

Everyone started eating, the first course consisting of ramen, which Cass had picked up a taste for while in Hong Kong. Two minutes into the meal, Tim and Damian were already screaming at each other, Barbara was speaking in code to Onyx about a mission she'd recently sent her on and Steph had happily begun her wingman duties, hyping Cass up to Brenda.

"...and then there was the time Cass saved Tim from a pack of wild dogs, and the time Cass quizzed me for my final exams while we were both doing handstands, and there was the time Tim kept stepping on rakes-"

"Wait, how many of these stories have had to do with me in pain?" Tim asked, suddenly taking note of the conversation.

"Don't ignore me, Drake! This is an important Cheese Vikings debate!" Damian screached.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, Timmy," Steph put on a mocking voice as she spoke to her ex. "I was just telling Brenda about all the ways Cass has helped us over the years."

"Oh yeah?" Tim smirked. "Hey Brenda, did Steph mention the time her hair got covered in maple syrup and-"

"NOT ONE MORE WORD TIMOTHY JACKSON DRAKE!"

The whole table froze.

Seconds past without a sound.

"Uh," Brenda uttered awkwardly. "So Cassandra, what have you been doing since you came back to Gotham.

Cass smiled, more than happy to answer her question. Cass hadn't wanted to go to Hong Kong, but it had been a place where she'd gotten accustomed to having a civilian life. These days, Cass spent the daytime hours making videos of her dancing for Youtube, taking acting classes, something which had delighted Barabra in particular and volunteering at several programs meant to help kids with disabilities.

"Wow, that's all so incredible!" Brenda exclaimed with joy.

"What about...you? Anything...besides work?"

"I wish," she sighed. "I have to work as many shifts as I can just to cover rent."

"Well you know Brenda, Wayne Enterprises is always looking for bright, new employees," Bruce said. "Maybe you'd like a job there instead?"

Cass shot him another glare. He'd overstepped. Again.

For the life of Bruce though, he couldn't understand why she was upset with him.

"I'd have to know exactly what I'd be doing, but I'll definitely get back to you on that offer, Mr. Wayne."

The meal continued as normally as any Wayne meal could, until Alfred announced that dessert would be out in two minutes.

With that, after almost an hour of warming up, it was time for Cass to make her move.

"Brenda, can we...talk? Privately?"

"Uh, yeah, of course," Brenda answered, unsure of where this was going. The two women existed the dining hall and returned to the grand foyer. "What's up? Everything okay?"

Cass took another deep breath as she perfected her posture. She had beaten Lady Shiva. She had slain eldritch abominations and helped save the world. She had eaten Oliver Queen's chili without flinching.

She could do this.

"Brenda, I…" two words in, Cass was already tearing up. "I THOUGHT I'D LOST YOU!"

As Cassandra screamed, she wrapped her arms around Brenda. Her and Barbara had worked out exactly what she'd say, but at this moment, she could only speak from the heart.

"I thought you were dead. That I would never see you again. That it was my fault." She sniffled. "And I...I care about you so much. And I want us to be...more. More than friends. Please."

Brenda took a moment to think. When that moment had passed, she smiled warmly, reciprocating Cass's hug.

"I...I felt the same way."

"Really?"

Brenda laughed.

"Do you remember that party we went to together? That outfit you wore?"

Cass smiled at the reminder of that night. "Yes."

"Well, I already knew you were cool. But when i saw you in that, I knew I felt something. But you seemed to be into Zero, so I didn't say anything."

Cass laughed. Zero had been a fun dance partner, but she really wasn't sure why she'd ever gotten romantic with him.

Cass pulled away, moving her hands up to Brenda's shoulders.

"Well, Zero isn't...here now."

With one last exchange of smirks, the two pressed their lips together and kissed passionately.

That night, Cass was in a very good mood. Everyone had enjoyed the meal, she'd gotten some nice presents and she was now dating the love of her life. All that was left to close out the great day was to go on patrol and save some lives.

As she entered the BatCave, expecting to find Steph and Tim, she instead found Bruce, Dick and Barbara, the former two in their Batman costumes and the latter with a box on her lap.

"What...are you...doing here?"

Bruce sighed.

"All day...no, since I came back, we haven't been as close as we used to be. You've gone out of your way to avoid me. I thought it might have just been in my head, but after today, I knew something was wrong."

"So he asked us," Barbara stepped in. "Honestly, Cass, I'm proud of you for expressing how you felt to Brenda, but you're both still pieces of work when it comes to saying how you feel."

Bruce stepped away from the others and toward Cass.

"Cassandra...are you mad at me because of the orders I left you when I "died"?"

In an instant, the past few months of pain and sadness were unleashed in a single punch on Bruce's stomach, causing the Dark Knight to keel over.

"DUH!" she screamed.

Dick was about to step in, but Barabra put her arm out in front of him.

"You left! I was hurting! And all you had to leave me...was a message that I wasn't good enough! That I wasn't family!"

Cass kicked Bruce in the face, flipping him over.

As Cass panted with rage, Bruce wiped blood off of his mouth.

"That's what you thought my message meant?" Bruce stood up and slowly put a hand on Cass's shoulder. "I'm sorry. When I said you were to give the Batgirl mantle to Spoiler, I thought it was obvious what that meant I wanted for you."

"What?"

"You were always my first choice to be my successor, Cassandra. To wear the cowl." Barbara wheeled herself over to them and opened the box. "And even now, if there can be two Batmen, there's no reason there can't be three."

Cass looked inside the box with awe.

"Happy birthday, Cassandra." 


End file.
